United Kingdom police arrested a Pakistan-origin man on Monday in Derby for allegedly vandalizing Guru Arjan Dev Gurdwara in the city.
The gurdwara described the vandalization as a subject to hate crime. The CCTV footage of the incident accessed by the NDTV showed the man breaking into the premises of the gurdwara and smashing glass doors, causing thousands of pounds of damage.
As per the statement of the gurdwara, no individual was injured and that the clean-up process has begun, the media agency reported. The incident drew strong condemnation from political leaders in India as well as the United Kingdom.
The Sikh Council UK tweeted the images of the destruction caused in the premises.
Guru Arjan Dev Gurdwara, Derby attacked/vandalised this morning . Same Gurdwara produces 500 meals daily for the community during lockdown. @RobertJenrick @team_greenhalgh Our focus should be tackling #hatecrime and reopening. Usually the Gurdwara would be busy with Sangat. pic.twitter.com/1ogQKZ74MN
— Sikh Council UK (@SCUKofficial) May 25, 2020
Preet Kaur Gill, Shadow International Development Secretary and Labour & Co-op MP for Birmingham Edgbaston took to twitter, condemning the incident that directed communal hatred.
The man also left a note mentioning Kashmir on the walls of the gurdwara, according to the statement received by New Delhi, NDTV reported.
‘Try to help Kashmir people otherwise problem everyone,’ the message read, along with a phone number.
‘When the attack took place, it was the time of kirtan (prayer) but due to lockdown, no one was in the gurdwara,’ a senior government official told the news agency.
The gurdwara has been providing langar to almost 500 people and helping frontline workers amid the COVID-19 pandemic, an official in New Delhi said.
According to a statement issued by the shrine authorities, ‘This hate crime or any sort of crime against a Sikh will never deter us in our practice of seva (service) and simran (prayer). We will continue the service for the community with langar and continue to stream live nitnem (daily prayers). We will ensure the safety of all our sevadars (volunteers) and employees.’
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